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Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (ASAP):
Information for contributors

To submit an article: The online submission portal for the journal may be found at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/asap (or http://tinyurl.com/ASAPsubmit).

Content of submissions: ASAP will consider scholarly manuscripts in any area related to the goals of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). This scope is broad; recent articles have applied the methods of the social and behavioral sciences to the study of economic and social justice including ageism, heterosexism, racism, sexism, status quo bias and other forms of discrimination, social problems such as climate change, extremism, homelessness, inter-group conflict, natural disasters, poverty, and terrorism, and social ideals such as democracy, empowerment, equality, health, and trust. Regardless of topic, submissions will be evaluated in terms of scholarly excellence, clarity of exposition, and relevance to the psychological and behavioral study of social problems, social action and policy.

Types of submissions: Articles in a range of formats are considered. The modal ASAP article is a freestanding piece, typically empirical, of less than 15000 words. The Journal also includes book reviews, thematic collections, and other material of interest to the readership. Beginning with the 2010 volume, prospective authors have the option of inviting continuing commentary.   Submissions in this category will be subject to the standard peer review process, then, if published, will be flagged online with the heading ‘continuing commentary invited.’ Subsequently, peer-reviewed comments and rebuttals will be presented with the original paper in an online virtual issue as well as in the annual print editions. Guidelines for contributors of comments may be found hereGuidelines for contributors of book reviews can be found here. 

ASAP now provides authors of selected manuscripts with the possibility of streamlined review. That is, for papers that have been previously denied publication at other selective journals, authors may submit the prior editorial correspondence (including reviews, decision letters, and a list of revisions) together with their manuscripts, with the aim of expediting the review process.

Manuscripts should conform to American Psychological Association (APA) style.  Beyond this, authors are encouraged to write in clear and thoughtful prose, to summarize results in tables that are largely self-explanatory, to use figures that are conceived and scaled in a way that reveals rather than obscures, and, perhaps most of all, to remember that their potential audience is busy, often skeptical, incompletely versed in the particulars of the research at hand, and, above all, intelligent.  Editorial policies are described more fully in the brief article that appears at the beginning of the 2010 volume of the Journal. All manuscripts should be electronically submitted on the web. Questions concerning journal  policies and the suitability of manuscripts may be sent directly to the editor:

Chris Aberson
Humboldt State University
Email: ASAP.Editor@gmail.com